Cloth roll carrier



U8 12, 1969 T. w. MARTIN CLTH ROLL CARRIER Filed Nov. zo, 1967 INVENT'OR. //o/Ms MMV/em) BY Z from/EY y? V United States Patent O 3,460,774 CLOTH ROLL CARRIER Thomas W. Martin, Nashville, Tenn., assignor to Cutters Machine Company, Inc., Nashville, Tenn., a corporation of Tennessee Filed Nov. 20, 1967, Ser. No. 684,206

Int. Cl. B65h 19/02 U.S. Cl. 242-58 5 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A frame having a pair of transversely spaced, upright standards adapted to rotatably support the spindle of a cloth roll, and an auxiliary cloth roll carrier mounted upon the frame adjacent the standards, the proximate end of the auxiliary roll carrier being spaced inwardly toward the remote side of the frame to provide a fulcrum upon which an auxiliary cloth roll may be pivoted for manipulating the remote end of the spindle into position supported on the remote standard.

Background of the invention This invention relates to a cloth roll carrier, and more particularly to a carrier mounted upon a frame having cloth roll supporting standards to perform the double function of carrying an auxiliary cloth roll and facilitating the transfer of the auxiliary roll from the carrier to the standards.

Trough-shaped, or concave, auxiliary cloth roll carriers or holders mounted upon cloth spreading machines are known in the art, as evidenced by the Weiss Patent 957,- 588 and by the Scoles Patent 2,291,351. Moreover, a device for assisting in the mounting of a cloth roll wound on a spindle upon the supporting standards of a cloth spreading frame is disclosed in the Gilbert Patent 2,525,- 346. However, it is believed that the combination of the functions of supporting an auxiliary cloth roll and facilitating the mounting of the auxiliary roll upon the main spindle supports in a single apparatus is new.

Summary of the invention It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an auxiliary cloth roll carrier mounted on the rear of the frame or carriage of a cloth roll supporting apparatus, such as a cloth spreading machine, which is so constructed and so located that it will adequately support the auxiliary roll as well as facilitate its transfer to the main spindle supports on the frame. The cloth carrier has an arcuate cross-section, concave upward, to substantially conform to the circular configuration of the cloth roll. The length of the carrier is substantially less than the length of the roll to be supported and substantially less than the distance between the pair of upright spindle supports or standards. The standards are also located adjacent the rear of the frame so as to be proximate to the carrier. The proximate end of the roll carrier, that is the end closest to the operators side of the spreading machine, is spaced inwardly from the proximate side of the frame so as to provide a fulcrum upon which the operator can push down upon the proximate end of the spindle to pivot the roll about the proximate end of the carrier and thus elevate the remote end of the spindle toward and upon the bearings in the remote standard. After the remote end of the spindle is properly supported in its bearings, then the proximate end of the spindle may be lifted and placed into the corresponding bearings in the proximate standard. In this manner, the full Weight of the cloth roll and its spindle are never borne by the operator.

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Brief description of the drawings FIG. 1 is a proximate side elevation of the invention as mounted upon a cloth spreading machine disclosing a cloth roll in an auxiliary supported position and in an intermediate transfer position; and

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary top plan view of the invention disclosed in FIG. 1, with the cloth roll disclosed in the intermediate transfer position and in its spreading position.

Description of the preferred embodiment Referring now to the drawings in more detail, the cloth spreading machine 10 comprises a carriage frame 11 supported by Wheels 12 engaging a rail 13 fixed to the proximate side of an elongated cloth spreading table 14. In this manner, the spreading machine 10 is adapted to move longitudinally over the `table 14 in order to spread layers of cloth thereon, in a well known manner..

The frame 11 supports a pair of upright spindle supports or standards 17 and 18. The top ends of the standards 17 and 18 are yoke-shaped, opening upward, and provided with roller bearings 19 and 20, respectively, for rotatably receiving the end portions of the spindle 22 upon which is Wound a cloth roll 23. The standards 17 and 18 are spaced apart transversely substantially the width of the frame 11, and the corresponding bearings 19 and 20 are horizontally aligned to support the spindle 22 on a transverse, horizontal axis. Necessarily, the distance between the standards 17 and 18 must be less than the length of the spindle 22, yet greater than the length of the cloth or web roll 23. The spreading position of the cloth roll 23 and spindle 22 as mounted on the standards 17 and 18 is best disclosed in phantom in FIG. 2.

If desired, the standards 17 and 18 may be mounted at the opposite ends of a cloth carriage frame 25, as disclosed in FIGS. 1 and 2, mounted for transverse reciprocable movement upon the machine frame 11, to permit lateral adjustment of the roll 23 and the cloth web 26 spread by the machine 10. The web 26 from the cloth roll 23 may be threaded beneath the guide bar 27 and over the guide bar 28 downwardly to the spreading member 29.

It is particularly to be noted that the standards 17 and 18 are located proximate to the rear end of the frame 11.

The auxiliary cloth roll carrier 30 made in accordance with this invention is preferably an elongated plate having an arcuate cross-section, concave upward, to conform substantially to the curvature of the cloth roll in its auxiliary position 23 disclosed in FIG. 1. As disclosed in FIG. 2, the length of the carrier 30 is substantially less than the width of the frame 11, and specifically, substantially less than the distance between the standards 17 and 18, and also less than the length of the cloth roll 23.

The remote end 31 of the carrier 30, as disclosed in FIG. 2, is mounted in alignment with, and rearwardly of, the remote side of the frame 11 by means of a support bar 32 fixed to the rear edge of the carrier 30 and to the bottom portion of the rear of the frame 11, by any convenient means, such as bolts. The forward edge of the carrier 30 at the remote end 31 is also secured to the top portion of the rear of the frame 11 by a bracket 33.

The proximate end 35 of the cloth carrier 30 is supported in a position spaced substantially inward from the proximate side of the frame 11 by an elongated support bar 36. The support bar 36 extends from the rear edge of the arcuate carrier 30 around the bottom of the proximate end portion 35 and forward through the frame 11. The intermediate portion of the support bar 36 is secured to a transverse rod 37 bymeans of U-bolts 38. The front end of the proximate support bar 36 is cantilevered upwardly against a front transverse support rod 39. The support bar 36 may be further secured to the front edge of the roll carrier by bracket 43, if desired. In this manner, the arcuate auxiliary roll carrier 30 is supponed against the rear end of the frame 11 substantially parallel to the spindle axis defined by the bearings 19 and 20, and substantially above the wheels 12.

As previously mentioned, the standards 17 and 18 must be located proximate to the rear of the frame 11. That is, the distance between the bearings 20 of the remote standard 18 and the proximate end 35 of the carrier 30 must be substantially less than the length of the roll 23 so that the proximate end 35 may function as a fulcrum for pivoting and balancing the roll 23 in its transfer position 23 as disclosed in both FIGS. 1 and 2. The roll is pivoted by the operator depressing the proximate end of the spindle 22, thus elevating the remote end of the spindle 22 into a supported position in the remote bearings 20.

In the operation of the invention as mounted on a cloth spreading machine such as 10, a first cloth roll will be elevated manually to the spreading position 23, disclosed in FIG. 2, with the opposite end portions of the spindle 22 supported in the bearings 19 and 20 of the standards i 17 and 18. One method of elevating the rst roll from the table 14 is to maneuver the primary roll by sliding or rolling to a position along the proximate edge of the table 14, then depressing the proximate end of the spindle 22 using the proximate edge of the table 14 as a fulcrum. The upper portion of the roll will thus be lifted until it engages the proximate end 35 of the cloth carrier 30. Then by elevating the proximate end of the spindle 22, the operator may slide the roll 23 axially along the top of the arcuate carrier 30 until the major portion of the roll will be supported upon the carrier plate 30, such as in the position 23' of FIG. l. By depressing and swinging the proximate end of the spindle 22 toward the rear, the

operator can maneuver the roll into position 23 of FIGS. l and 2, where the remote end of the spindle 22" engages the remote bearings 20. The operator then lifts the proximate end of the spindle 22'l until it is seated upon the bearings 19 and is in the spreading position 22-23 of FIG. l.

A second cloth roll may then be manipulated and elevated by a single operator from the table to the auxiliary roll carrier 30 as previously described, so that the machine 10 will have a primary roll in the position 23 and an auxiliary or secondary roll in the position 23'. The web 26 of the primary roll 23 will then be threaded through the guide bars 27 and 2S and the spreader member 29. The cloth spreading machine 10 is then moved longitudinally of the table 14 by any convenient means, such as manually by the handle 40. As the cloth spreading machine 10 reciprocates back and forth over the table, the web 26 is spread in a series of layers.

After the primary cloth roll in the spreading position 23 has become exhausted, the primary spindle in the position 22 is lifted out by the operator and discarded. The operator then depresses, and subsequently swings rearward the proximate end of the spindle 22 of the auxiliary roll 23', maniplating the roll through the intermediate balanced pivoted position 23 until the remote end of the spindle of the auxiliary roll is supported in the remote bearings 20. The proximate end of the spindle of the auxiliary roll is then lifted by the operator until it is properly supported upon the proximate bearings 19. The auxiliary roll then becomes the primary roll and the spreading operation is repeated.

By providing an apparatus such as a cloth spreading machine 10 with a cloth carrier of the construction of the carrier 30, the spreading machine 10 is not only provided with a carrier upon the main frame 11 for supporting an auxiliary cloth roll, but is also provided with a device which facilitates replacement of the primary roll after it has become exhausted. Thus, not only is there a considerable saving in time in the total cloth spreading operation, but considerable Work is eliminated in mounting cloth rolls upon the standards 17 and 18. At no time does the operator support the entire weight of the roll 23, which can be quite heavy. As a matter of fact, without the cloth carrier 30, cloth rolls can be heavy enough to ordinarily require the efforts of two men, or sometimes even mechanical hoisting equipment to mount the rolls upon the standards 1'7 and 18.

It will also be noted that the length of the cloth carrier 30 and its relative location to the spreader frame 11 not only facilitates loading of the roll from the auxiliary carrier 30 to the standards 17 and 18, but also facilitates the elevating of the roll from the table 14 to the auxiliary carrier 30.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and therefore the invention is not limited by that which is shown in the drawings and described in the specification, but only as indicated in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for supporting a roll of web material in which a spindle extends through the core of and beyond both end faces of said roll, comprising:

(a) a base frame having a remote side, a proximate side, and a rear,

(b) a standard fixed to and projecting upright from each of said frame sides,

(c) said standards being spaced apart a distance less than the length of said spindle, but greater than the length of said roll,

(d) the upper ends of said standards comprising substantially horizontally aligned bearings for supporting opposite end portions of said spindle,

(e) a roll carrier having an arcuate cross-section, a

remote end and a proximate end,

(f) means mounting said carrier concave upward at an elevated position upon the rear of said frame substantially parallel to the axis of said aligned bearings, said proximate end being spaced inwardly toward said remote side from said proximate side to provide a fulcrum for said roll.

2. The invention according to claim 1 in which said base frame comprises a movable cloth spreading carriage having a wheel-supported bottom, said roll carrier being mounted above the bottom of said frame, and the axis of said spindle bearings being above said roll carrier.

3. The invention according to claim 1 in which the distance between the spindle bearing on the remote side of said frame and the proximate end of said roll carrier is less than the length of said roll.

4. The invention according to claim 2 in which the roll carrier is mounted above the bottom of said frame a distance substantially less than the length of the roll.

5. The invention according to claim 1 in which the length of said roll carrier is substantially less than the distance between said standards, and the remote end of said carrier is in substantial alignment with the remote side of said frame.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,525,346 10/1950 Gilbert 242-58 2,545,337 3/1951 Blessing 242-58 3,085,762 4/ 1963 Subklew 242-58 LEONARD D. CHRISTIAN, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 242-62 

